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History
The American Society for the Study of Religion (ASSR) was founded in 1959. Two years earlier, a symposium was sponsored by the family of Paul Carus, former secretary of the World's Parliament of Religions held in 1893. Even after the Parliament, Carus was active in Parliament business and the larger study of religion for the remainder of his life. The scholars gathered for that initial symposium included Charles Adams, Ludwig Bacchofer, Marshal G.S. Hodgson, Winston King, Edmund Perry, and D.T. Suzuki.
In the following year, the American Council of Learned Societies' Committee on the Study of Religion established the ASSR as the American branch of the International Association for the History of Religions. Early active members included Joseph Kitagawa, Kenneth Morgan, and Edmund Perry. Early past presidents have included Erwin Goodenough, Mircea Eliade, Wilfred C. Smith, Joseph Campbell, Norvin Hein, Charles J. Adams, Joseph Kitagawa, Edward A. Tiryakian, and Ninian Smart. For a full list of past presidents, see below. In 2001 the ASSR elected its first woman president, Judith Berling, of the Graduate Theological Union.
Since 1959 the ASSR has met annually at the end of April and pursued a particular theme in the study of religion over the course of three days. ASSR meetings have followed a tradition of a small number of paper presentations and a large amount of time for discussions. Its meeting topics tend to reflect the trends in the field. Recent topics have included "Religious Controversy," "The Marginalized," "Religious Identity," and "Visual Culture." For past programs, see below.
Since its inception, the ASSR has been intentionally interdisciplinary. Its members come from a variety of disciplines, including classics, philosophy, history, anthropology, philology, and art history, as well as the study of religion. In addition to scholarly pursuits, the ASSR will occasionally provide support for religion departments in need, in keeping with its history of making a case for the centrality of the study of religion within the academy.
For a fuller early history, see Wendy O'Flaherty, "On the ASSR and Joseph Kitagawa," in History of Religions, Vol. 25, No. 4, Religion and Change: ASSR Anniversary Volume (May, 1986), pp. 293-295.
Past Programs (Click to view content)
Note: It was traditional for meetings to end with a "roundup" session. Beginning with the 1961, the name listed after the semi-colon indicates the member who led the roundup session that year. The practice was abandoned between 1997 and 2007 and renewed again in 2008.
Year | Place | Topic | Presenters |
1960 | Arden House | Miscellaneous | W. Smith, von Grunebaum, Bellah, Kitagawa |
1961 | New York | Religion and Social Change | Parsons, Berkes, McFarland; Nelson |
1962 | New York | Images | Eliade, Goodenough, Hodgson; Schneider |
1963 | New York | Piety through Law | Blau, Chan, C. Adams; Hein |
1964 | New York | Adaptation of Tradition to New Conditions | Kitagawa, Singer, Goldin; Harrelson |
1965 | New York | Religion and Government | Frye, Jacobsen, Ross |
1966 | New York | Types of Methodology in the Study of Religion | Stendahl, M. Smith, Tapp; Long |
1967 | New York | Secularization and the Sacred | Campbell, H. Smith, Taubes; Bellah |
1968 | New York | The Nature and Role of Religious Belief | Dimock, J. L. Adams, W. Smith; W. King |
1969 | Chicago | The Culture of Unbelief | Bellah, Perry, (Kitagawa); McFarland |
1970 | Cambridge | The Nature of Religious Authority | Werblowsky, Robinson, Tiryakian; Panikkar |
1971 | New York | New Modalities of the Sacred | Hutchison, Nelson, Long; Jonas |
1972 | Chicago | Secrecy in Religion | Welbon, Middleton, Schimmel; Bolle |
1973 | Nashville | Root Metaphors in Religious Traditions | Oxtoby, Wayman, Ricoeur; Carman |
1974 | New Haven | Divinized Femininity in the Development of Religious Traditions | Kramrisch, Pope, McFarland; C. Adams |
1975 | Toronto | Demonic Powers and Their Cults | Tiryakian, J.Z. Smith; H. Smith |
1976 | Princeton | Transformation in Sacrifice | Turner, van Buitenen, Glatzer; Campbell |
1977 | Chicago | The Meaning and Function of the Dead | Earhart, Oxtoby, Sandmel; Harrelson |
1978 | Philadelphia | Scripture, Theories and Uses | Carman, Stendahl, Carstens; Streng |
1979 | Cincinnati | Role of Biography in Religious Traditions | Schimmel, Reynolds, Silberman, Smart; J.Z. Smith |
1980 | Chicago | Methodology | Polomé, Gager, Harrelson; O'Flaherty |
1981 | Toronto | How Religions Express Themselves Politically | Lawrence, Hopkins, Earhart; Perry |
1982 | Durham-Chapel Hill | Religious Uses of the Visual Arts | Maquet, McFarland, Vazquez; Middleton |
1983 | Stony Brook | Religions and Change I: Pluralism | Tapp, Elder, Kraabel; Peacock |
1984 | Chicago | Religion and Change II (Special Silver Anniversary Program) | Panikkar, Fernandez, Smart, Kitagawa, Sivin; Long |
1985 | Claremont | New Religions: Ancient and Modern | Robinson, Robertson, Middleton; Penner |
1986 | Toronto | How Religions Handle Conflict Situations | Hein, Berling, Silberman; Ching |
1987 | Minneapolis | Sacraments | Welbon, Williams, Slater; Smart |
1988 | Stony Brook | What Makes Some Categories Better for Comparison than Others? | J.Z. Smith, Robertson, Lincoln; Davis |
1989 | Philadelphia | Conversion a Useful Comparative Category? | Nagata, Peacock, Long; Waldman |
1990 | Dallas | Formatting Comparisons toward Understanding Religious Life | Berling, Carman, Smart, Hopkins, Lawrence, Keyes, Penner; Sullivan |
1991 | Columbus | Interpreting Religious Texts | W. Smith, Middleton, Lawrence; Tapp/Streng |
1992 | Cambridge | The Practice of Religion: Meditation and Mysticism | Sivin, Swearer, Williams, Segal; Welbon |
1993 | Chicago | The Practice fo Religion: Violence | H. Smith, Morgan, Oxtoby; C. Adams |
1994 | Williamsburg | The Practice of Religion; Pilgrimage and Diaspora | Graham, Hein, Welbon, Earhart, Davis, Ebersole, McFarland; Knipe, Nagata, & Strong |
1995 | Santa Cruz | Religion and Political Responsibility | Davis, Tiryakian, Kasulis, Hopkins; J.Z. Smith |
1996 | Baltimore | The God Hypothesis | Swearer, Reynolds, Bell, Eaton, Segal, Oxtoby; Earhart |
1997 | Atlanta | The Changing Face of North American Religious Pluralism | Eck, Kasulis, Swearer, Nanji, G. Laderman (guest), Lawrence Earhart, Segal, Slater; McAuliffe, Lawson, Courtright, Eck |
1998 | Durham-Chapel Hill | Focusing on the Marginalized: New Methodological Issues | B. Smith, Kasulis, Lawrence, Lease, Peacock, Berling, Hackett, Martin, J.Z. Smith, Ernst, Holt, Nagata, Reynolds, Graham, Hawley, Hecht |
1999 | Northfield, Minnesota | Role of Scholars Responding to Religious Controversy, Conflict, or Change | Hackett, Jurgensmeyer, Strenski, Tweed, Silk (guest), Kasulis, Lease, Berling, Elder |
2000 | Chicago | Religious Self-Definition: The Influence of Other Local Religions | B. Smith, Bell, Ebersole, Reynolds, Graham, Newby, Oxtoby, Tiryakian, Kasulis, Strenski, Segal |
2001 | Lazy K Bar Ranch, near Tucson | The Other Senses of Religion: Taste, Sound, Smell, and Touch | Keyes, Lawrence, Richman, Segal, Strenski, Lease, Hackett |
2002 | Cambridge | Responding to September 11th | Kasulis, Graham, Tiryakian, Hackett, Ernst, Holt, Strenski, Patton, Lawson |
2003 | Waynesville, North Carolina | Religious Groundings: Making Connections to Particular Places | Peacock, Klein, Keyes, Strong, Hawley, Aronowicz, Ebersole |
2004 | Newark | Urban Religion | Newby, Eck, Brown, Berling; J.Z. Smith |
2005 | Atlanta | Who Can Speak for Traditions? Scholarship, Politics, Diaspora, and e-Religion | Patton, P. Johnson, Courtright, Robbins, Newby, Hackett |
2006 | Cambridge | Visual Culture | Blier (guest), Kendall, Gyatso, Hopkins, Carrasco, Tiryakan, Tweed, Jones, Eck |
2007 | Berkeley | Food and Food Practices | Shapiro (guest), Sullivan, Knipe, Mann, Lease |
2008 | Lewiston, Maine | Dreams | Kripal, Cabezón, Johnston, Bongmba, Cladis; Patton |
2009 | Chicago | The Real and the Fake | J.Z Smith, Peacock, P. Johnson, Doniger, Jones, Patton, W. Sullivan, Tweed; Reynolds |
2010 | Granville, OH | Religion and Economy | Graf (guest), Swearer, McDermott, Richmond, Johnston, Shiels (guest), Ernst |
2011 | Atlanta | Miracles | Patton, Strong, Yu, Frankfurter, Hollenback, Aronowicz, Lawrence, Hackett |
2012 | Santa Barbara | Embodied Mind | Tweed, Taves, Kasulis, Holdrege, Robbins, Weisenfeld, Peacock |
2013 | Chapel Hill/Durham | Children | Orsi, Ziolkowski, P. Johnson, Hardacre, Strenski |
2014 | Cambridge | Scale | Sullivan, Nielsen, Urban, Newby, Hardacre, Strong |
2015 | Houston | Myth | DeConick (Guest), Strenski, Patton, Kripal, Gottschalk, Johnston, Bender, Newby |
2016 | Bloomington | Syncretism | Sullivan, Frankfurter, Graf, Ernst, Klassen |
2017 | New York | Jurisdiction and Topography | McDermott, Sullivan, Masuzawa, Promey |
2018 | Atlanta | Traces | Ernst, Holdrege, Courtright, Ebersole, Bender, Kasulis |
2019 | Middlebury | Past Legacies and Future Possibilities | Ernst, Strong, Patton, Johnston, Hackett |
2020 | Chicago | [Cancelled due to
COVID-19 pandemic] | |
2021 | Virtual Meeting | | |
2022 | Chicago | Race, Ecology, and the Matter of Religion | Holdrege, Jenkins (Guest), Carter, Wedemeyer, G. Johnson, Juergensmeyer, Hackett, Richman |
2023 | New Haven | What Does the Study of Black Religion Mean for the Critical Study of Religion? | Weisenfeld, Carter, Stewart (Guest) Hucks (Guest), P. Johnson, Curtis (Guest) |
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Past Presidents (Click to view content)
- Erwin Goodenough (Yale University), 1960-1963
- Mircea Eliade (University of Chicago), 1963-1966
- Wilfred C. Smith (Harvard University), 1966-1969
- Joseph M. Kitagawa (University of Chicago), 1969-1972
- Joseph Campbell (Sarah Lawrence College), 1972-1975
- Norvin Hein (Yale University), 1975-1978
- Charles J. Adams (McGill University), 1978-1981
- Edward A. Tiryakian (Duke University), 1981-1984
- R. Ninian Smart (Lancaster University and University of California, Santa Barbara), 1984-1987
- Frederick Streng (Southern Methodist University), 1987-1990
- Williard G. Oxtoby (University of Toronto), 1990-1993
- Bruce B. Lawrence (Duke University), 1993-1996
- Bardwell L. Smith (Carleton College), 1996-1999
- Thomas P. Kasulis (Ohio State University), 1999-2002
- Judith Berling (Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley), 2002-2005
- John Strong (Bates College), 2005-2008
- Laurie Patton (Emory University), 2008-2011
- Thomas A. Tweed (University of Notre Dame), 2011-2014
- Sarah Iles Johnston (Ohio State University), 2014-2017
- Carl W. Ernst (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), 2017-2020
- Barbara A. Holdrege (University of California, Santa Barbara) 2020-2023
- Rachel McDermott (Barnard College), 2023-
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Records
The archives of the meetings and business of the ASSR since its inception in 1957 until 1996 are housed at Harvard Divinity School’s Andover Library. Records since 1996 are in the process of being collated for inclusion in this archive.
A description of the collection can be found at:
https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/12/resources/995
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